


down the fox's den

by xShieru



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hunters, Dubious Consent, F/M, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Death, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Nobody appreciates Komaeda, Sexual Content, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2014-01-31
Packaged: 2018-01-06 11:54:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1106513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xShieru/pseuds/xShieru
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'Never love a wild thing. The moment you let your guard down it will devour you.'</p><p>--<br/>In which five hunters team up in order to kill monsters roaming the streets of an old village. Set in Supernatural universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> lol I am winging this sO HARD. 
> 
> i had a wonderful dream on the Christmas eve and it involved SUPERNATURAL STUFF. I had to write it down. We'll see how well it goes.

People often see things the way they want to. It’s not that they are shortsighted, far from it; people are nosy and would rather die instead of minding their own business... And you know what they say. Curiosity killed the cat. Usually people like perceiving supernatural things their own way. They look for logical explanations in the smallest of things and if their brains draw a line, well then… they call it illogical and abnormal. 

It’s their choice entirely what to do after they reach that conclusion. They do not necessarily believe it, but if they do then it’s their job to get rid of their doubts before enthusiasts start seeking out supernatural things, beings, and end up getting maimed in the cruelest ways imaginable.

Nosy human beings disappear without a trace.

It was a never ending cycle.

Hinata Hajime, a twenty year old supernatural being hunter, not yet a professional, but surely on his way there, sighs and rubs the lingering sleepiness from his eyes. He shivers and buries his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. The cold air is expected, it is early October after all, but unwelcome. He enjoys summers so much more, but sadly, they didn’t last too long in their climate zone. 

There’re three more people next to him. Hinata’s partner, a young and only woman with bright pink hair has her gaze fixed on a handheld game console, therefore impossible to talk to, all of her undying attention focused on the game. She leans against the side of their impossibly old SUV. It was probably really dumb of Hinata to think of the old rust bucket as a part of their only recently formed hunter duo, but despite being a broken piece of shit it still saved their lives plenty of times.

The two other men stand right next to them, the taller one - a chatty guy named Souda curses under his breath as he tries to fix Hinata’s rust bucket. Hinata has faith in Souda’s mechanic skills, almost as much as he does in his shooting skills and tries to ignore the profanities spewing from the mechanic’s partner, a short-fused hunter named Kuzuryuu. He analyzes a map, marked in red dots, crosses, arrows and whatnot, plays with his pocket knife and keeps on saying a hundred curse words per second like he’s getting ready for some sort of competition. 

“Can you shut up for like a minute?” Souda growls and wipes his oily hands with some torn rag that he had seemingly summoned out of thin air. “I can’t concentrate with you saying ‘fuck’ every three seconds.”

“Shut the fuck up.” mumbles Kuzuryuu and to spite the magenta haired man even further, he flips him off. Souda clicks his tongue and stands straight, too exhausted to actually argue. “I don’t want to hear you talking for the rest of our job here, so you better tape your mouth shut before I do it for you.”

Hinata raises one eyebrow at that, still not wanting to be pulled out of his daydreams. He had been driving the whole night and his caffeine level was running low. Nanami was the same as ever, quiet and focused even though she hadn’t slept for two days now. He was not sure how it was possible, but he didn’t want to think too much about it. 

The short blond was famous for his bitchy attitude that was absolutely not necessary and over the top at times, but this was a little too much. He hadn’t seen this Kuzuryuu since his last partner was killed during a particularly difficult job. Hinata knows, along with everyone present, that Kuzuryuu is boiling with anger because of their whole situation and the taller one decides to voice out his concerns.

“I agree with Souda, you have to calm down. We’ll do fine, so it will do you good to think about this rationally. We are prepared this time and we know who we are actually dealing with.”

“Hinata, we have been standing in the middle of fucking nowhere for hours now, your piece of shit for a SUV is a wreck, we have no fucking backup plans whatsoever, it’s freezing, I’m hungry and we are still one douchebag short.” The blond snarls and kicks the side of the black jeep parked nearby, Souda’s property. The magenta haired man scowls at the foul-mouthed hunter but says nothing.

There’s really nothing to say because everything that Kuzuryuu said was the truth. They were tired, far more than it was acceptable and standing in some sort of abandoned highway wasn’t the best way to keep warm. Neither of them felt the urge to make small talk, too lost in their own thoughts, most of them related to their case. Hinata’s reluctant to return to that particular village overrun with monsters, all of them are. He’s lost more than enough of his comrades in that place last year, somewhere around this time too. 

The one in charge, their boss of sorts, Byakuya Togami had sent out his most skilled hunters to check it out and rid the villagers of their terrors but out of ten only five had returned safe and sound, only two completely unscarred. It wasn’t easy to mention this incident and even more difficult to talk about it, especially with the ones who were present at the time and managed to survive in exchange of watching their comrades fall victim to sharp claws and fangs.

Historical sources said that the Ludenberg village was built all the way back in thirteenth century, the origins of the city tracing even further beyond that. It all had begun when the royal and well-respected Ludenberg family had built a huge castle there and claimed the lands around it, from the Great lakes to the forests. The fortress itself was built on a hill and with due time a village had formed around it. The village soon grew into a city, a prosperous one at that. It kept expanding until the last member of the family passed away and ever so slowly it began to fall apart. 

Still, to this day people lived in the remains of the old village right next to the imposing and impassible forests. The architecture was unlike anything Hinata had ever seen, it all felt like he was stuck in Middle Ages and the people who lived there were okay with that. They held huge pride in their hometown and it was not unusual to see the villagers wearing old outfits as if to blend in with their surroundings. It all felt oh so very ancient, it was no wonder that the old castle, which was now a museum, and the old buildings attracted so many supernatural beings thirsty for the scent that the years had left behind, most of them of the shape-shifting kind. 

People kept disappearing from the village all the time, the funny thing was that nobody even thought about calling the police to report the missing ones. Hinata was informed that they had done it a few decades back when the disappearances first started but no culprits were ever found. Now the people have just given up. Hinata swore that if he heard the stories about the angered daughter of Ludenberg family wandering around the forests in the middle of the night and kidnapping the descendants of people who had locked her up in the castle he would get sick. He got hit by some old lady once when she had told him the story and he had merely rolled his eyes at her, claiming that it was stupid and illogical. Souda, who was his partner at the time, had laughed himself to a coma and Hinata sported a bruise where the lady’s bag hit him too hard. 

Well at least they believed in the tortured spirit bullshit instead of rubbing their eyes and realizing that there was a horde of shape-shifters roaming the streets. It might cause unnecessary panic. 

A hunter’s job was to never give out any secrets regarding the case. 

But last year, even the older people noticed that something was off, more off than it was normal, when a group of outsiders died in the forest. The hunters had no choice but to tell some more trusted people about what was actually going on. They taught them self defense, taught them how to set up traps and it was all very quiet and peaceful until autumn returned with a new swarm of specific shape-shifters. Deadly shape-shifters. 

Hunters had to return and finish their job properly, before everyone was killed for the beasts food supply. 

Togami felt that five people would be more than enough.

Hinata, along with three people present, thought that this was insane. 

It was either a wild goose chase or a slow and painful death for all of them and none of the options looked too appealing.

“I am sure that whoever is assigned to help us has a very good reason to be late.” It’s Nanami’s voice that cuts off the silence as the girl approaches Hinata and settles next to him. Her game console flashes ‘game over’. She still looks like she has some trouble gathering her thoughts and the look in her eye is more vacant than usual.

Kuzuryuu bristles like an angry cat at that. “I don’t give a fuck about whoever the hell is about to get here. I could go all alone for all I care. I don’t want anyone holding me back after all.” He sneers and Nanami’s eyes get a hard edge in them.

“We are a team of five people, Kuzuryuu. A team is supposed to work together and make certain decisions together. We must reach an understanding. Which means that you are absolutely not going to go alone.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are to order me around, you—“

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Hinata is finally dragged out from his daydreams. He glares at the short blond who meets his acid gaze with one of his own. He stands his ground, and the grip on his knife is just a tad bit too tight. Nanami holds one hand up as if to pacify them and Hinata relents, his shoulders slumping. They weren’t even in the village yet and they were already off to a bad start. Usually he would let Kuzuryuu’s insults slide, but today is just not his day.

“Don’t.” the pink head warns him and Hinata mumbles a sheepish ‘I wasn’t about to do anything’. “Kuzuryuu, I understand how you feel, we all do, but please understand just what kind of situation we have at hand. If we split up we will end up dead and you… you do not want that.” The girl trails off and the defiance fades from Kuzuryuu’s body. Souda stands beside them, uncharacteristically quiet for once. 

“Tche.” The blond hunter clicks his tongue and turns away slightly, his freckled cheeks painted bright red from embarrassment. “I don’t need you telling me that. Fine. Let’s just leave it at that. But I am not going to freeze my ass off out here waiting for that little tardy shit.”

Finally the magenta haired man speaks up. “Yeah, man, I agree. It’s getting really fucking annoying, how about we just ditch him or her and tell Togami that they had failed to show up. If that person wants to join us they can go straight to Luden’.” 

The three hunters think about it. Souda was right for once, they could easily slip off the hook without any extreme scolding from the hunter in charge. “Alright…” says Nanami timidly and pulls the hood of her sweater over hear head. She keep shivering, all of them do, despite wearing layers upon layers of clothes. “Let’s wait for him for another half an hour. If he fails to show up then we will stick to Souda’s plan.”

They are about to agree when the mentioned man perks up. “Hey wait wait wait. ‘Him’? Do you know who we are waiting for here? Actually, scratch that, do any of you have any idea who we are supposed to be meeting?”

“I don’t fucking know, but all I can say is that I am going to stab them with a blunt knife for the shit they pull on us.”

“What if it’s a girl?” the pink haired woman wonders out loud, fully intending to mess with Kuzuryuu and taps one finger against her lips. The blond makes a strangled noise and flushes even more.

“I—I…” he stammers, but then regains his cool. “You just said ‘him’, didn’t you!?”

“Did I…?” Nanami pretends to be lost deep in her thoughts and looks to the distance. “Huh… I guess I did. Ah. I think I had overheard Togami saying that it was a certain man… I am not too sure though. I guess we will have to see for ourselves.”

Hinata rolls his eyes while Souda laughs animatedly (‘pfft you secretly listened to Togami’s conversations? How are you not dead yet!?’) and he’s about to ask who, but Kuzuryuu beats him to it.

“Well then!? Who is it? Tell me so I can decide if I should go easy on them!” He howls and stabs the air with his knife. 

“I am not supposed to tell.” answers Nanami and fiddles with a loose thread sticking out of her worn jeans. 

Souda snorts at that. “So now you’re playing the good girl? You secretly listened to Togami’s super duper special secret conversation and now you don’t wanna tell? C’mon. You obviously know who it is, don’t you.”

“You sound like your girlfriend. It’s a good thing that you can get some time apart.” Nanami jibes at the man with sharp teeth and he makes a squeaky ‘geh!?’ sound. “I don’t want to say because I know that you will kill the poor man the moment he shows up, that is, if he truly does, which is doubtful.”

“Just give the name, wise girl.” Hinata groans, and lightly smacks his palm against his forehead to will the throbbing in his temples away, but the sudden sharp slap only adds to it.

Nanami actually elbows him and puffs one cheek angrily. She hates the nickname Hinata has given her, in fact, she hates every nickname he’s ever come up with. “I no longer feel like telling you the name because of that little remark. And I don’t really need to.” She points behind Hinata’s shoulder. “He’s already here.” 

The three men turn to look at the plain scenery, there’s not much to look at really, only fields at the left side of the empty highway and a small forest at the right. A lone car, Hinata can’t even call it a car, it’s a wreck, even worse than Nanami’s and his SUV, glides soundlessly as if the engine was actually dead and someone was pushing it from behind. He doesn’t need to squint his eyes too much to know who the driver is.

“Oh great.” He and Souda sigh simultaneously. “That guy.”

“Aw man, who the hell invited him?” Souda whines and takes off his beanie to scratch the back of his head properly. “Well then, party’s wrecked, guys. I feel the creepy levels rising already.”

Kuzuryuu doesn’t give any answer, he keeps cursing like a sailor while Nanami slowly goes up to him and silently asks for the map and the manila file of documents that he has. She mumbles something that sounds suspiciously like ‘I told you so’.

With a blank stare Hinata watches the car stop just a little ahead of them. The door opens and the first thing that enters Hinata’s field of vision are two overly long legs unfolding followed by the rest. A young man steps out, kicks the dirty door shut with the tip of his boot and gracefully walks towards them, hips swaying and white hair being ruffled in the breeze. He looks like he belongs on a runway instead of an ancient, cracked highway, his looks are ethereal, absolutely out of this world and his complexion is a startling white.

The man’s name is Komaeda Nagito and Hinata dislikes everything about him from the tips of those ruffled strands to his toes.

Komaeda flashes them a lazy smile, his upper lip moving in just the right way, showing just a little of the straight white teeth and Hinata feels his mood drop even further.

It’s not just him he notices.

Nanami shoots the newcomer a dirty look, her eyes cold, Kuzuryuu shakes with barely controlled anger like a Chihuahua kicked out into the rain, Souda’s gaze is intense as he warily eyes the fifth member of their party like he’s about to shoot him in the head. Souda’s always been a bit unsettled by Komaeda, afraid of him even, and he snarls at the sound of the white head’s melodious voice. 

“Hello there, everyone. It’s truly been a while. What an amazing reunion, I am so glad I’ve finally got to meet you again after all these months. I look forward to working with you.” He says all of it in one go as if he’s been thinking about this speech for days and bows slightly. His hair fans over his startling green eyes and Hinata sees Komaeda’s gaze shift on him, the corners of his lips arching up just the slightest bit. He does not waver, just keeps staring at Komaeda as if he’s a piece of trash next to his feet and the white head does not look one bit unsettled.

“Souda!” Komaeda chirps cheerfully and nods in greeting. The magenta haired man just stands there frozen and refuses to make any sort of movement. Komaeda’s smile is bright as if he has expected this all along and he turns to the lone girl. “Hello, Nanami. I don’t think I’ve seen you for two years!”

The only woman of their group lowers the map she had been studying. “…Hello.” She says reluctantly and stiffly nods her head in greeting. “I wouldn’t have minded to make it three years and more than that…” she lashes out in that overly calm way of hers and returns her attention back at the paper at her hands.

It’s Kuzuryuu’s turn then, but before Komaeda can finish his staged greeting, the short blond opens his mouth. “No. Just go away. I don’t understand why the fuck fatso thought it was necessary for you to be here. I was on my way to developing hypothermia just so that you could get your ass here!”

“I am very sorry, Kuzuryuu, it was—“

“Not a single fucking word, ya hear? Don’t even approach me!” 

“I’m afraid that I cannot do that. We must stick together, even if I may not match up to your skill—“

“If ya say that you can’t match up then don’t fucking do anything at all.” Souda roars, finally gathering some courage. “You could have just drove past, we’ll be fine on our own. You didn’t see us and we didn’t see you.” He huffs and stomps towards Kuzuryuu. “Seriously, let’s just tie him up and leave him here.”

“Sounds like a plan. I won’t waste bullets on this guy, let’s leave him to werewolves.” The blond hunter scowls not even bothering to keep his voice down and spins his knife between his fingers. The look on Komaeda’s face changes just the slightest bit and Hinata can’t tell if he’s annoyed or hurt or he just doesn’t care, but this can’t keep on going any further.

“Enough.” He interjects Souda’s and Kuzuryuu’s plans to get rid of the creepy kid and immediately Komaeda’s attention is on him. Hinata tries his best not to look his way, he feels that adoring puppy gaze burning him, has felt it time and time again. He no longer needs to see it to know it’s there. “Nobody is going to tie up or stab anyone. We have a job to do and that’s our top priority and as much as I am tempted to leave Komaeda behind if Togami says that this team is needed to get rid of the shape-shifters then you will listen to him or we will end up in the same situation like last year.”

“Hinataaa.” Komaeda whines in a childish voice and before the brown haired hunter can react, the white head’s arms wrap around him in a hug. Hinata curses and immediately starts pushing him away, but the thin man refuses to budge. He sends a desperate look over Komaeda’s shoulder hoping that his teammates will help out, but they just stand there with disturbed looks on their faces. These hugs happened far more often than he liked and Hinata was out of practice. Despite the taller one’s speed, he usually managed to avoid any unnecessary body contact. “You’re amazing! I am honored to have you as a leader, for you to defend such a lowly creature as I…! How truly inspiring, you’re absolutely—“ 

Hinata can’t hear what he’s 'absolutely' because Komaeda does that thing which he always does whenever they meet after extended periods of time, aka: longer than one day. The white haired man buries his face in the curve of Hinata’s neck, nuzzles and inhales. It’s fucking embarrassing it’s always been and he presses his palms against Komaeda’s forehead to pry him away, his face heating up.

The heat in his face keeps getting hotter in temperature when Komaeda whispers, so silently that he has to strain his ears to hear it properly. “Same as ever...” he says and smiles against the rapidly heating skin of Hinata’s neck.

Souda makes a gagging noise and Hinata can see him facing away, shivering from something that is most definitely not cold, Kuzuryuu is too shocked to move and Nanami is left perturbed yet unimpressed. The brunet just thanks whatever deity there is that they can’t see the whole thing clearly, Komaeda’s back obscuring them.

“K-Komaeda!” Hinata warns him and tries to push him away but to no avail. He’s just too strong. “Stop! T-This is!” he does not know how to finish that thought.

This is exactly why everyone hated Komaeda.

You see, Komaeda wasn’t a bad guy, he really wasn’t, but he was weird. A little too weird, okay, a lot more weird than was acceptable which made it hard for him to blend in with the other hunters. Hinata had first met the guy when he was seventeen, same as him. Hinata’s parents had died when he was only a kid and he had been taken in by his uncle who had known that the death of his sister and her husband weren’t normal. Hinata had learned the truth about his family, about the fact that his mother was supposed to be a hunter but she refused to live that kind of lifestyle and married some shady guy. A year later Hinata was born and so there was the end of that. Hinata’s grandfather had reluctantly blessed his only daughter’s marriage and let her move away to build a happy life, but it was only common knowledge that once you were in, there was no way out.

His uncle, Jin Kirigiri, was a nice man and he had worked very hard to help the hunters-to-be in every way he could. He had built a certain establishment where they could learn how to defend themselves, learnt about supernatural beings, ways to kill them and it also served as a home to all of the kids who had lost their parents. Hinata had grown up surrounded by weird kids, even his cousin Kyouko was a bit weird in her own way, some of them weirder than the rest, but all of that was nothing compared to Komaeda Nagito.

To this day Hinata could remember the lonely kid with dead eyes, his body bruised and bandaged, his bones jutting out like he had been starving to death. Hinata saw that the boy had troubles approaching others and he knew about his nightly terrors so after a few weeks Hinata had gathered some courage and decided to talk to him. Komaeda was curt with his answers, voice trembling, pupils dilated and he was shying away whenever Hinata had tried to reach out to him. It took him at least two months of patience to finally get Komaeda to open up and once he cracked, Hinata found a whole new person.

The shy Komaeda was actually quite lively and curious. Hinata had liked that Komaeda the most, a lot more than the selfish prick he had turned into later on. Hinata could pin point the exact moment when they started drifting apart.

It had been a cold night and as always Hinata had found the boy curled on his bed with a mountain of blankets surrounding him. The boy moved aside so that Hinata could settle down next to him. They sat in comfortable silence, the only light source was a flickering candle and somewhere around 2:30 a.m. the white haired boy suddenly took Hinata by the hand and turned it so that Hinata’s palm was facing up. Komaeda had instructed him to keep his hand up like that and then reached for his only belonging since had had gotten there. It was a necklace with small fang stringed on a strip of leather and Hinata had always seen him wearing it whether it was day time or night. 

“I want you to have this.” the white haired boy said and his face tinted a deep red as he dropped the necklace onto Hinata’s outstretched hand. “P-Please take it.” He turned away but even if he did, the heavy blush was still coating his thin neck, the tips of his ears bright red.

Hinata was confused, he didn’t understand why Komaeda had suddenly decided to give him his most treasured possession, but he was not about to question it. He had rolled the cool fang in his palm and gripped it tightly. “Thank you.” The brunet whispered and watched Komaeda shrink even more. There was a long stretch of silence when the other boy finally turned his way, his eyes watery. ”C-can I put it on you?”

Hinata blinked owlishly. It wasn’t like he couldn’t do it himself, it wasn’t a silver necklace with those small clasps or anything of the sort, plus he was sure that the strap was long enough for him to put it around his head without untying the ends of it. If it could slip by Komaeda’s ruffled mane of white then it would be even easier for him, but well… it was a gift and if the one who gave it insisted on it... “Sure.”

Komaeda’s hands were trembling all the while and when the little fang was resting against his chest and the strap was finally secure around Hinata’s neck he had hugged him, his whole body shivering like a leaf in the wind. “Thank you for accepting it. Thank you for saying ‘yes’.”

Hinata had no idea what that last sentence meant and he still didn't understand it, but he figured that he’d just let it go. It wasn’t like he knew the inner workings of the white head’s mind and he wasn’t about to start bothering himself with it, he had given up on that task a long time ago.

After that night something about him changed. He couldn’t place what it was. Komaeda had suddenly started talking to others. At first it was fine but then he had started freaking everyone out. Hinata was uncomfortable and he will never forget the last time they had decided to have a friendly spar together. It made heat go straight to his cheeks and he had decided to forget that incident completely. Let’s just say that Komaeda’s sudden adoration for the column of his neck had grown a little too strong.

If people didn’t hate Komaeda for his weirdness and self-degrading they hated him for his looks, intelligence, agility, speed and power. It didn’t take long until he was on the very top of the charts and even Hinata felt a bit jealous whenever he saw Komaeda beating some punks in sparring, not really believing that this same kid was his shy Komaeda, the same half starved twig-like kid who was afraid of the dark, who was suddenly the best at everything he ever did while Hinata was barely a complete average. 

People were disgusted by Komaeda’s way of thinking, they disapproved whenever the white head spouted some sort of nonsense that sacrificing comrades was a way to victory, a way to better tomorrow, a way to greater hope. And they hated him for being a pompous little shit that called himself 'useless trash' but still felt like he was better than the rest. 

And as freaked out as Hinata was by him, he still couldn’t hate him as much as others did. He and Komaeda weren’t friends, but for some reason Hinata still wanted to understand his sudden change a little. 

“Let me go this instant! This is creepy, Komaeda!” Hinata growls in warning, the mentioned man freezes and then moves away. His face is void of emotions when he looks at Hinata’s flushed face and immediately Hinata cuts off their eye contact. A shiver of disgust travels down his body. Gross...!

“You really are one sick motherfucker. I am not the one to defend anyone’s virtue, but you better stay away from him, because that was a pathetic view.” Kuzuryuu says and Komaeda fixes him with an indifferent stare.

“I don’t think it is your place to order me around, Kuzuryuu.” His voice is laced with such coldness that Hinata shivers again and he hears Souda whimper. The ever present tension keeps rising when Komaeda’s mood does a 180 and he turns to Nanami who is pretending to study the map she’s holding, but Hinata can tell from the tremble of her hands that the possible places where the shape-shifters hide are the last things on her mind. “Would you mind giving me some details about the case? I’m afraid I don’t know nearly as much as I should… How am I supposed to keep up with all of you great hunters if I stay in the dark? Oh of course, I can’t even dream of it.” Komaeda’s voice develops a cynical note and Souda and Kuzuryuu look like they are seriously ready to combine forces and beat Komaeda senseless. “Ah. If a time - when we are inevitably ambushed - comes, feel free to leave me behind! I’d be more than happy to die for a noble cause if it solves all of your problems and brings hope to those around me.”

“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind.” grumbles Souda and cracks his knuckles. “We could just leave you here to die right now. Or better yet, if it plays out just like you said and shit happens we’re leaving you behind!”

“Please do.” Komaeda hums cheerfully and Hinata refuses the urge to face-palm.

This will be one frustrating job.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn’t all that easy for them to accept Komaeda. Hinata couldn’t help but stare at him with mild curiosity. It had been a long while since he had last seen him and something about him has changed yet again. Not attitude wise of course.

It was like, as reluctant as he was to admit it, that with every single day Komaeda was becoming more and more attractive. It was a factor that he could not deny no matter how much he disliked him. The man had the looks and not just any looks, it was something else entirely.  
Hinata sips on his canned coffee and tries to evenly divide his attention between talking with Souda and eyeing Komaeda. 

His figure is still the same, bony and wiry as ever, his back flexes in the same way it usually does whenever he shifts his weight on one leg, his hip was still jutting out like it always did and he should probably stop at that, because he was feeling bad for even thinking about that man in such way.

Well whatever it was that was bothering him, he will have to find out. He’ll have plenty of time.

Nanami relaxes a little once she begins explaining the case and idly traces the map with her fingertips. Komaeda’s attention is completely focused on her and Hinata is glad that for once the white head isn’t shooting leering glances his way.

The brunet almost spills his cold coffee all over himself once Souda closes the hood of his rust bucket with an audible bang, effectively snapping him out of his disturbing thoughts. “Alright, this baby is good to go. I changed the oil and you had overlooked some other minor errors, none of them too important, but you gotta invest into a new ride because this one won’t last for long.” Souda sighs and pats the car as if it’s a child. Hinata actually feels a bit hurt because that will be a hard thing to do but if a professional mechanic says that it is vital - then it must be done. “Hah, yeah. Give me a few thousand bucks and I might. Togami does not give pay raises. Togami does not pay us at all.”

“I can still teach you some poker, man, it’s never too late.” Souda claps the brown haired hunter’s shoulder and Hinata just waves him off. 

“Nah, your idea of playing poker is swindling people, I am not about to do that. I’m not desperate enough.”

“Hey a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, right? It’s the easiest way to make some money.”

“Cheating in games is very low.” Nanami says curtly with her back turned to the duo. She is still pointing at something on a piece of paper and Komaeda bends even lower to take a good look at it. Hinata refuses to look his way when he does.

“And do tell us how you earn your money with all of this ‘saving people, hunting things’ business going on?” the magenta haired man looks at her, interest lacing his voice.

“I do specific jobs. I am not obliged to tell you more about it.”

“Yeah, we shoot people. Catch ‘em when they least expect it, beat them senseless and then pull the trigger.” Kuzuryuu snorts and looks over their weapon stash, safely hidden in the black jeep. “We are low on ammo by the way, boss.” He sneers and Hinata rolls his eyes. “I sure as hell hope that y’all know how to handle knives and other sharp objects or you’re dead.” He takes out an oversized knife that resembles a machete more than anything, waves it expertly and turns towards Hinata. “How do you fucking kill those things anyway? Clean stab through the heart? Silver? We can leave more than half of this stuff out. They ain’t gonna disappear from some holy water.”

“Shape-shifters do not require much effort to kill, in the terms of actually killing it. You can kill one with a clean stab through the heart, sometimes throat, the choice of a weapon does not matter. Use a box cutter if you wish.” Nanami responds, her eyes now fixed on some documents. Komaeda hums in agreement. 

“They are very hard to catch.” He says timidly and despite it being Komaeda, everyone actually listens to him. “Whoever it is that we are dealing with are very intelligent and they blend in rather nicely. We can completely rule out werewolves so it is only natural that silver won’t be a vital necessity. Then again I am pretty sure that you know who exactly you’re dealing with already.”

“Us. Us dealing.” Hinata corrects him with a deep frown.

“Ah yes. You’re right as always. Please forgive my incompetent way of thinking.” Komaeda doesn’t even turn his way and Hinata scowls at him. 

“Anyways, I thought that after we smoked them out last year they wouldn’t return. And you have to admit that the patterns of disappearances are way off.” states Souda and joins Nanami to look at some photos.

“Yes with a noble sacrifice of five people.” Komaeda sighs dramatically and all eyes turn to him in case he starts his rant again, but for some reason he does not. “But in the very end you had retreated and entrusted the situation to some simpletons who have never learned the art of killing.” He actually has the nerve to sound disgusted. “Absurd! Absolutely absurd. One must not underestimate such disgusting creatures as shape-shifters. It is hard to scare them off. They enjoy the feeling ancient forests bring them. And it says right here in the reports that they return there every autumn and when they do at least ten people go missing. We must travel to Ludenberg and talk to other hunters who cannot simply handle this on their own. How useless.” Komaeda snarls and straightens up. “I can’t stand one more minute of this. Let’s go already.”

They do not really want to agree with him but they seriously had no more need to loiter around the place in this freezing weather. It looked like it was about to rain too. The five of them nodded silently and Kuzuryuu began gathering his files. Nanami was quick to settle in the shotgun seat of their SUV and Hinata was about to climb after her when he felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Ah. Before we go can I ask you a favor?” Hinata contemplates if he should just say ‘no’ and get this over with. Instead he wordlessly turns to Komaeda, an unspoken ‘ask away’ lingering in the air. “Thank you so much for willing to hear me out. Could you give me a ride?”

Hinata has to raise his eyebrows at that. “What the hell do you mean? You got here with your own ride, didn’t you?”

“It would be better if I left it here. I hot-wired it, which was why I was late. It took me some time.”

“You stole it?” Hinata’s eyes widen and he pins Komaeda with a disapproving look but he doesn’t look ashamed. 

“I had to or I wouldn’t have made it.” Komaeda chirps and flashes a smile. “And I just couldn’t miss a chance to work on a case with you once again, Hinata. Let’s make it right this time.” He purrs and leans in. Hinata sees where this is going so he steps back before Komaeda does his creepy thing.

“Alright.” He says sternly and Komaeda’s eyes brighten up. “But you better keep quiet for the rest of the journey or I won’t hesitate to kick you out, understood?”

“Loud and clear.” Komaeda salutes him, his smile a bit fake. “I should probably get my stuff then.”

Hinata’s gaze follows the white head rushing towards his own car and the hunter wonders just what the fuck he had agreed to, but then Kuzuryuu slams the signal, Souda already having started the jeep and Hinata quickly settles on the front seat. Before he can say a word to Nanami she beats him to it, her eyes fixed ahead to Komaeda’s thin frame as he struggles to open the trunk.

“Please tell me he won’t hitch a ride.”

“I—“

“God, I hate you.” Nanami groans and takes out her headphones. “Don’t talk to me for the rest of the ride. I am very upset with you.” She mumbles earnestly and before Hinata can actually come up with an appropriate response, the car fills with a muffled sound of Nanami’s music blasting full force.

“Don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me with him…” Hinata whines and smacks his head against the steering wheel but it falls on deaf ears. His head throbs even more, but he can’t find it in himself to care. Fuck everything. Just… fuck it.

\--

It was a torturous ride filled with ever growing annoyance and sexual innuendos. Komaeda, being a true prick that he was, had only managed to keep his mouth shut for about fifteen minutes before he started spewing bullshit like volcano spews lava. Nanami passes out one hour later and Hinata controls the urge to drive them off a cliff. Ten minutes later he finally tells Komaeda to shut the fuck up before he stops this god damned car and kicks his ass and turns up the radio just a bit louder.

It’s quiet for… five minutes and fifty three seconds. He counted.

The brunet was about to cry tears of joy when the familiar forests of Ludenberg greeted his field of vision and he jumped out of the car the second it stopped. Kuzuryuu and Souda were already inside of the pub owned by one of their trustees in this god forsaken village. The sun had already set and the streets were even emptier than he had remembered. It only made sense, with all of those disappearances happening not many were brave enough to go outside the moment the sun touched the horizon. 

The pub slash motel wasn’t too crowded, some shady people occupying the dimly lit tables farther away. Hinata breathed in the familiar scent of wood and smoke when there was a familiar shout to his right. 

“Ay, well if it isn’t lil Hinata!” the mentioned hunter smiles and turns to face a tall woman seated in front of a spacious table covered in piles of half eaten food. Next to her sits a big and rather scary looking man, his arms crossed.

“Owari. Nidai.” Hinata greets and makes his way towards the table. The woman kicks a stool out, an invitation to sit down. His companions follow behind him and Nanami yawns loudly.  
The pair is one of the best hunters out there. Owari Akane smiles at him brightly, crumbs stuck on her lower lip, hands folded in a way which shows just a bit too much of her cleavage than it is necessary and Hinata feels his face heating up just a little so he turns to look at the imposing man instead. The old hunter’s raucous laughter sounds like thunder. “Gahahaha! Oy, it’s truly been a while. I see that you have grown up into a fine young man! I bet you have become a wonderful hunter if Togami had actually sent you out all the way here. “

“I guess now will be a good opportunity to test my skills.” Hinata says sheepishly and the older man smiles good-naturedly. “That’s the spirit. YOU MUST ALWAYS ACCEPT A CHALLENGE!” Nidai howls and some of the small clientele jumps up, Komaeda included. 

“C’mon now, don’t just sit around and drool, take a seat.” Owari orders and they all do as they are told. She looks them over with a curious gaze. “I see you’re no longer a loner, Hinata! Your new companions?” she looks at Chiaki and squints her eyes. “Hmm wait a minute, I remember you! You were always hanging out with lil’ Tsumiki. Umm… What was it… ah. Mioda?”

Nanami shakes her head, not one bit offended. “It’s Nanami. Nanami Chiaki, Owari.”

“Oh right right!” she laughs loudly. “Mioda, Nanami... ehh, same thing! I am no good with names anyways. It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise.” The pink head smiles, as Nidai grumbles his own greeting. Akane then turns to Komaeda and eyes him warily. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before, kid?”

“My apologies. Sorry for not introducing myself before. My name’s Komaeda Nagito. I’ve heard a lot of stories about you, Ms. Owari.” The white head extends his hand out politely and the woman shakes it, gripping that white, bony palm, just a bit too tight. She still doesn’t trust him. Hinata smites down the urge to roll his eyes. First Komaeda calls the hunters in charge simpletons and now he was using that sickly sweet voice of his. What an ass-kisser. 

“That would be Mrs. Nidai, but whatever, kid. Just Owari is fine.”

Komaeda looks confused; the look on his face almost screams ‘I fucked up’. “I beg your pardon?”

“I’ve been Ms. Owari four years ago. Now I am just using Owari for convenience reasons because I and the old man here can never figure out which Nidai they are referring to. It’s just too complicated.” She groans and scratches the back of her head. “Isn’t that right?” she turns to Nidai and pinches his muscled arm.

“That is correct. Anyways, today is the day we finally leave and before we do we must talk about the facts regarding this case. Togami has insisted that we go North. There was a pack of werewolves spotted near the Great Lake and only we can get rid of these creatures. I am no good at hunting the shape-shifters this village is infested with.” Nidai says and Akane nods in agreement. “We haven’t found out much and they weren’t that active for the last few days. Most of our efforts to find out which specific breed it is were fruitless. THESE BASTARDS ARE SLY!” the trio jumps up again and the other people present shoot angered looks at their table, the oldest hunter specifically. 

“At first we thought we are dealing with those… what were they? Dople-something.” Akane frowns, trying her best to remember.

“Doppelgangers?” Nanami offers with a small smile.

“Yeah, those. But after two days we were sure that those beasts were something else. I wouldn’t mind encountering one; I’d give it a good ass kicking! They are really strong from what I heard and that’s great. I need the exercise.” She cracks her knuckles and a menacing aura surrounds her. 

“I don’t think that’s very wise, Owari. “ says Komaeda and leans back in his chair. “The beasts we are dealing with—“

“Yeah yeah, no need to be a party pooper. You’re an uptight one, aren’t ya? You fit Hinata perfectly.”

“Do I? Thank you very much.”

“H-Hey don’t lump me together with him!” Hinata scowls. “I have no intentions of working with him.”

“Now, Hinata, THAT’S A BAD WAY OF THINKING! One must always cooperate with fellow warriors! Didn’t I teach you any better?”

“That’s right, Hinata.” Komaeda smiles in a sickeningly sweet way and turns towards the annoyed brunet. “I know that I am a useless creature, but you will have to trust me. I’ll try my best to—“

“Anyways can we please go back to the case? I need everything, even the slightest details. I don’t wish to stay here longer than necessary.” Nanami wordlessly nods her head in agreement at that. 

“No can do.” Akane beams. “We need to wait until the other duo is present. Souda has retired for the night, still an irreplaceable chicken I see. I should give him a good beating. And that Kuzuryuu.” She stuffs her pinky finger into her ear and looks to the side. “Still a little bitch I see… That boy needs to do something about his attitude. Hey, can I hit him?”

“He’s just frustrated, that’s all. He really changed since last year, you know what happened.” The older hunters shiver at the mention of it.

“You shouldn’t be so angry at him, Akane. The horrors he had faced here are unimaginable. The boy lost his fiancée, his comrades and his right eye. It must be too painful for him to comeback.”

“And you should probably stop worrying about me and talking behind others backs.” deadpans Kuzuryuu as he comes up to their table, takes out one stool and settles down. “I’m here now, aren’t I? Let’s get down to business.”

“Alright then, we are good to go.” Akane looks over the four hunters on the other side with a serious glint in her eyes but then turns towards the ancient bar. “Yo, Hanamura, can I get some beer? Our treat.” She flashes a smile towards the slightly confused four.

“Wait, we are minors, we can’t drink yet.” sputters Kuzuryuu. 

“What a baby! Milk for you then?”

“What did you just—“

“No, I have to agree with him on this one.” says Hinata. “We got some investigating to do later on. We need to be as sharp as possible.”

“You are absolutely not fun.” Akane pouts and turns towards Nidai. “Get me a beer. I can’t string my thoughts together and I am tired.”

Much to Hinata’s surprise the man obeys. He slowly raises himself up and goes up to the bar to fetch mugs of the light alcohol for him and his wife. There’s an awkward moment of silence. Akane eyes them curiously and they all avoid looking her way. She sniffs the air. “It smells like a funeral in here, can you cheer up a lil’? I don’t want to leave knowing that all of you feel like shit.”

“No bad mood is allowed in this bar.” A new voice reaches their ears and they all look up to see the young owner of the run down pub. “Good evening, Owari. Here’s your drink. It is on the house.”  
Hanamura Teruteru winks playfully but the woman brushes him off completely, grabs the mug and begins chugging it down like a person who’s been dying from thirst. He turns towards the newcomers. His gaze falls on Nanami first and only then on the rest. Needless to say he greets the lady first. “Oh my, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before. What brings such a beautiful lady all the way here? Now let me guess, lace with a flower pattern?”

She blinks at him and gathers her thoughts. “…Excuse you?”

“Ha-Hanamura!” hisses Hinata, claps his hand over the short bar owner’s mouth and whispers. “Don’t mention her underwear or this will end very badly for all of us.”

The pub owner just mumbles a muffled ‘I’m sorry’, his back tense. When Hinata deems it to be safe he slowly retracts his palm away. “Whew! Thanks for that, buddy. I didn’t think that the day would come when I’ll get to see your face again! Are you the ones in charge now?”

“Yeah, that’s us.”

Hanamura looks over them, his gaze betraying doubts and mistrust. “I don’t think that’s a good idea… are you sure you can handle it when Nidai couldn’t?” he sends a fearful glance towards the imposing man. 

“What was that, you pig?” Kuzuryuu hisses and stabs his pocket knife into the wood of the table. He kicks the stool he was seated on just mere seconds ago so it rests on one side and forcefully stomps his right foot on it. “Are you doubting us!? People like you should just stay quiet. You need us to help you; you people are the ones who called us here so you better change your fucking speech pattern before we change our minds and get the fuck out, yeah?”

Hanamura jumps back at the sight of the fuming blond and eyes the knife which gleams eerily. He squeaks like a frightened animal and bows.

“Now now, please stop fighting.” It is Komaeda who interjects and he raises his hands in front of his chest as if to calm them down. He seems quite unsettled by the way events had unfolded. “We all have the same objective and I think that now would be the right time to discuss it before Owari drinks herself into a stupor.” He sends one anxious glance towards the woman who has taken Nidai’s mug and was downing it too. 

Needless to say it falls on deaf ears until Nanami speaks up and the two men calm down, Kuzuryuu cursing excessively and Hanamura looking relieved. The bar owner makes sure to stand as far away from the blond man as possible, his eyes still on the knife. The pink head notices it and she retracts the sharp object, folds it and throws it towards its owner. Kuzuryuu catches it without looking and hides it in his jacket. There’s a deep hole left behind in the wood.

“Now that everyone has calmed down.” The pink head stresses every word, her voice harsh. She doesn’t even need to yell, all of them listen to her. “I suggest that we find out who we are dealing with. Tonight.”

\--

Needless to say it doesn’t go all that well. It never goes well whenever a group of hunters who haven’t seen each other for a while get together with some booze involved. It doesn’t take long for Owari and Nidai to start a drinking contest, but none of them look even one bit buzzed and they are already on their fifth mug of beer (Owari is on her seventh). After some time she begins to feel slightly tipsy and converses with Nanami who is listening to her with a polite smile etched on her face, sometimes taking a sip of beer that Akane has placed in front of her. 

“What a man!” Owari laughs and wipes the beer moustache from her upper lip. “Real werewolf skin too. He had caught them and skinned them with his own bare hands, go on, feel it!” she extends one arm for Nanami to touch the fur lining the sleeves of her coat. 

“Amazing.” 

“I know, right!?”

Hinata refuses to engage himself in the conversations happening so he moves to sit in front of the bar. He’s greeted by one of the barmaids; a red-haired woman named Mahiru Koizumi. She asks them how the investigation is going and Hinata is rendered speechless.

“Wait, how do you know about this!?”

“Oh please, Hinata, do you think I am stupid? Those stories about rabid wolves could only work for so long.” She rolls her eyes and slides him a glass of water. Besides, Hanamura isn’t that quiet when it comes to talking with hunters.” She gestures towards the rowdy table with her chin. “It wasn’t too hard to overhear.”

‘That idiot…!’ Hinata thinks bitterly. ‘Does he not understand the severity of this situation…!?’

“Worry not, my lips are sealed. Though I do not understand your way of thinking… Wouldn’t it be better to just tell everyone and evacuate them?”

“I wish it worked like that, but imagine trying to convince all of those realists. No, actually, imagine trying convincing everyone that all of those things that exist in movies and fairytales are actually real.”

“I guess you’re right. I had a hard time believing it too... I still do not like your way of thinking!” she wipes at some glass and they converse about their boring lives when the barmaid perks up. “Oh! That’s right. I caught something on my camera one week ago. I am not sure if it helps you, but—“

“No, that’s fine, I need everything I can get, just show it to me.” Hinata says in a rushed voice and the woman disappears behind the counter. 

“Here.” She slides a single photograph towards the hunter. “I decided to take a stroll and I thought I saw something gleam in the dark. At first I though that I was just seeing things, maybe it was a wild animal or something? There are a lot of them in these parts of the village. It was still scary so I took a photo. Who do you think it could be?” she asks worriedly and leans over the bar top to look at the small photo. Hinata feels his blood freeze when he sees a tall shape of a person standing between thick trunks of old trees caught on the film. He can’t make out if it’s a girl or a guy, in all honesty it looks more like a shadow than a human being, but the creepiest thing about the mostly black photo is the two yellow circles shining where… the things eyes are supposed to be.

“I think now we know who we are dealing with.” a melodious voice whispers into his ear and Hinata feels someone’s presence behind him. He chokes on nothing, jumps back and turns around so fast that his neck pops. His heart thunders wildly and he grips the front of his chest only to find Komaeda looking over his shoulder, still focused on the photo, his eyebrows creased. 

“S-Shit! Don’t ever do that again…” Hinata rasps out and tries to stop the involuntary shivers that travel down his spine. “Make some noise when you decide to creep on someone, or better yet don’t do that to anyone!”

“I didn’t think that you would be so startled.” offers the white head and sits down on a barstool next to the brunet. “Anyways I was getting pretty bored over there, so I took some stuff and now we can do some research in peace, what do you say?”

“I…” he wants to say no, but they really need to get a move on and Komaeda’s smile is too hard to resist. “I... yeah, alright. Let’s get down to it. Thanks for the photo, Koizumi.”

“You’re welcome.” The barmaid mutters and places her hands on her hips. “I expect you to do a proper job this time! Nidai and Akane didn’t find out anything useful even after I showed this to them… I hope you’ll have better luck on your side.”

“I am sure he will. Now if you don’t mind…” Komaeda smiles coldly and pins the red head with a meaningful stare. She glares at him, turns away and mutters something foul about men. “So, I think that—“

Hinata almost has to force himself to listen.  
\--

Another hour passes in a heartbeat and Hinata doesn’t even notice how he and Komaeda are pretty much squeezed next to each other without an inch of space in between them. He feels warmth seep from that thin body even through three layers of clothes he is wearing, but he’s too focused on Komaeda’s explanations to notice anything around him.

He truly was one of the most intelligent and perceptive people Hinata has ever met and his take on their whole situation made him trust the man just a little bit more. If they kept this up then this will be all figured out by tomorrow morning. 

They didn’t need to wait that long

“So wait, you’re saying that we are actually dealing with… kitsunes?” Hinata asks timidly and shuffles the papers spread out before him. “Are you sure about that? Don’t they live in the East? I thought it’s too cold for them here.”

“Nonsense.” states Komaeda and brings Nanami’s map closer. “Every autumn they leave their dens and move North, which counteracts your statement that they do not enjoy cold. “

“Are you really sure about this? We are in some deep shit if we have to deal with them again.”

“Look, if you can come up with a better explanation, then I will be more than willing to hear you out, but for now I need you to trust me on this. I know what I am saying.” Komaeda snaps at the brunet and gathers the files that are about to slip off. He looks annoyed and Hinata can’t really believe it when the man raises his voice like that. He’s never seen Komaeda so edgy before, not even when others throw poisonous remarks his way. It’s like he has been personally offended…

“You really do know a lot about these shape-shifters, don’t you?” Hinata inquires tenderly and Komaeda tenses even more.

“I… yes. I have encountered them many times before. They are vile creatures and I couldn’t mistake the stench of them. I am not one to brag, but I have killed many of them and I can only hope that even more will follow so for now… Let’s try to find their makeshift den. I hope that you know all about kitsunes.” The white head sends a sharp glance his companion’s way and Hinata tries his best to remember. He had never thought that he would actually encounter them, a pack nonetheless.

“Well they are fox breed shape-shifters. They don’t shift completely which makes out job easier. They are very smart, cunning, extremely fast and strong, which makes our job really fucking difficult.”

“And the vital point…? Come on, I know that you have it all figured out. “ Komaeda encourages him and drums his fingertips on the dark wood bar top. 

“Every autumn they… Their mating season begins. But I do not believe that this has anything to do with the whole situation!” Hinata sputters, his face tinged red. 

“So you knew but you didn’t say.” The white head looks a bit relieved. “I think that is the only reason why they come here. In East there are barely any villages left so they travel, seek out new places. As I had mentioned before Ludenberg must smell like the old ages to them, the ancient forests attract them. As for the disappearances… Kitsunes are beautiful men and women. They seduce you and before you know it you’re wrapped around their little finger. Think about it, Hinata. The disappearances involve couples; most of them disappear right after they get married. People claim that they had found loves of their lives and then they are gone without a trace. This is what they are doing. They make you lose your mind, they drive you crazy and the moment you can no longer resist is the moment you die. The trap closes, there’s no way out and your neck is snapped. We… we can’t bring back the people that were lost in these forests but we can try and avoid the tragedy.” Those green eyes look down and the white head’s shoulders hunch. “Being a fox’s spouse… it can only end in death.”

They are silent and Hinata lets Komaeda’s words sink in. This was the worst possible outcome and there was only five of them and… god knows how many of kitsunes.

“How am I supposed to tell this to Kuzuryuu? How am I supposed to make Souda stay behind once he finds out that these are the same beings that killed five skilled hunters? How are we supposed to find them and kill them if they are so fast that we can’t even catch them?” Hinata feels his frustration building up and he rubs his forehead.

He feels Komaeda’s palm on his back rubbing soothing circles and for once he lets him. A part of him needs the firm touch. “If they run away I want you to know that I’ll always stay by your side. We’ll make it, I’ll protect you.” Komaeda says and Hinata looks at him from the corner of his eyes. There’s something… different about him. He still can’t place it. Those green eyes shine eerily and Hinata forces his eyes shut. Must be his imagination. “I think that we should tell them the news and then split up. We will have to investigate either way so…”

“You’re right” sighs the other hunter and lifts himself from the barstool, the white head’s arm sliding away from his back. “We’ll have to devise a plan. We can’t risk any more lives.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, peeps. AO3 is pulling weird shit on me.


	3. Chapter 3

“Kitsunes.” Akane’s eyebrows knit in concentration and she pinches the bridge of her nose. The pub has gone unusually quiet, lacking its usual late night clients after Hanamura had ushered them out, making up some sort of unconvincing excuse along the way. A couple of drunk men glowered at the short man who was near tears, pleading them to leave, and refused to budge but it took one more kicked stool from Kuzuryuu and one warning knuckle crack from Nidai before they were out of the place leaving clouds of dust behind.

Nanami had wordlessly risen up from her seat and went to fetch Souda, who was still locked inside his room, while Kuzuryuu had spent most of his time looking through the window with a wistful look on his face, his crossed arms limply falling to his sides upon hearing the news. The colour keeps on draining from his face; even his freckles were beginning to slowly disappear, and once Akane catches the sight of the horrified look in his healthy eye, she shoots one concerned glance the blond hunter’s way. With a huff the busty brunette turns to Komaeda standing by Hinata’s side. His body language is a perfect display of calmness, boredom even, and it takes her exactly three long strides to walk up to him. 

She places her hands on her hips and does her best intimidating pose that never fails to make Hinata cower in fear whenever it is directed his way, it was hard not to, knowing just how violent the woman could get, but it has no affect on the white head as he courageously meets the woman’s acid gaze, yet from the way he swallows nervously Hinata can tell that he’s scared. 

Either that or he simply does not want to get his pretty little ass kicked which was more likely. 

“And why should we trust this guy, ah?” the woman sneers and turns towards Hinata. “This is highly suspicious. A bunch of us have been trying to figure out which shape-shifters we are dealing with and then this guy” The brunette points her chin in Komaeda’s direction and the man’s lip twitches upwards much like an angered dog’s does “just randomly appears and has it all figured out in the span of a few hours. That makes no sense.”

“Do you doubt my competence?” the white haired man demands and Akane clicks her tongue, eyes gleaming in challenge.

“I don’t trust you, kid, nor am I a fan of smartasses who claim that they know everything when in reality they know jack shit. I have no reason to trust your word and until you bring me some sort of proof, my opinion won't change. Until then, spare us the trouble and don’t drag us around only to belatedly realize that your hunch was wrong all along.”

“I see no reason for you to doubt in my observation skills, miss.” Hinata holds back a wince once he sees the dangerous look light up the woman’s gray eyes as she purses her lips. “If anything, I should be the one doubting the rest of you. I still find it hard to believe that you haven’t figured it out after all this time when it was so obvious that the clues were pretty much thrown into your faces. So believe me when I say this, but I see no reason to trust you either nor will I put my faith in you. Then again, isn’t the lack of trust and cooperation a wonderful 'value' that all of us hunters share?” Komaeda’s voice trembles with barely suppressed emotion that Hinata cannot pin point but if he had to pick one, he would say that it was akin to exasperation. 

In some way Komaeda is right, always has been. As much as it made the others frustrated, angered or even jealous to the point of blind hatred, none of them could ever deny the truth, which the hunter had never bothered sugar-coating, behind everything he ever said. It made hating him so much easier. Hinata too realizes that he would rather pretend to be blind than face the reality, the truth that the white haired hunter has figured out when none of them could. It’s shameful that no matter what kind of situation, Komaeda would always be five steps ahead of them.

However Akane was having none of it. Immediately her hands shoot out to grab onto the lapels of Komaeda’s jacket and she roars loud enough for the whole village to hear. “Are ya pickin’ a fight with me, kid!?”

If at some point Hinata had thought that this tension couldn’t get any worse he was dead wrong. Komaeda makes no movement to defend himself from the woman’s clutches, even though Hinata knows that if he wanted to, he could push her away, but he wants to have some faith in the white haired hunter’s respect for seniors and women. He doesn’t say anything and Hinata sees Komaeda’s jaw tighten, as if the man is expecting a punch thrown his way, but despite the single drop of sweat rolling the side of his face, his eyes shine bright green with defiance and, oh shit, Hinata has almost forgotten just how sharp his canines are—

Hinata’s too damn entranced for his own good, his feet are firmly planted onto the ground and his unresponsive brain makes no movement to cooperate with his equally stiff body and stop the fight that’s about to break out when Nanami storms into the bar, dragging a teary-eyed Souda by the hand. She stops dead in her tracks once she witnesses the scene unfolding before her eyes and Souda takes it as an opportunity to wrench his wrist from the pink haired woman’s grip. Nanami goes up to the two hunters and begins prying Akane’s hands away from Komaeda’s black jacket.

“What is the meaning of this? Stop this right now, please.” The girl mumbles in a desperate voice, trying to calm down the raging brunette as she bats her hands away and Komaeda slips out of her grasp. Akane is about to pounce him again, but Nanami firmly plants her heels into the floor and holds the cussing woman by the waist.

“C’mere, you pussy. Be a man and fight me! I’ll kick your ass! Let me at ‘im.”

Komaeda breathes deeply as he crosses his arms, gripping at the material of his jacket hard enough to almost rip it. From the corner of his eye Hinata notices Souda, missing that ridiculous hat for once and staring at the scene with big eyes, but his attention is snapped back to the white haired hunter when he hears a low rumbling sound right next to his ear, so low that he has to strain his ears to catch it.

Holy fuck, was Komaeda actually growling!?

Hinata steps between him and the struggling female hunter duo in case Akane gets free and beats the guy senseless and places his hands on Komaeda’s trembling shoulders just for the hell of it. The effect is instantaneous; Komaeda’s ragged breaths calm, the alarmed look in his green eyes fades away and the quiet growling, that Hinata swears he had heard, dies in the back of the white haired hunter’s throat. 

“What is this commotion!? I could hear it all the way in the bathroom, how the hell do you expect me to take a shit in peace!? ENOUGH.” Akane is calmed down a second later when Nidai returns from his bathroom break. 

The silence that weighs all of them would seem deafening if not for the buzzing of electricity inside the antique lamps. Hinata does not dare to breathe, his gaze focused on Komaeda’s pale throat, his hands still fisting the scratchy material of the hunter’s clothes. He feels like a child all over again, a teenager back in his training days when Nidai had taught them self defense and it feels like he and Komaeda were caught sparing in the gymnasium after curfew all over again. A feeling of nostalgia begins overtaking the best of him, combined with the weird earthy smell that he has always related to Komaeda and the sight of his throat, no longer that of a gangly teenager but a grown man. 

He is pulled out of his empty thoughts by a scratchy voice that belongs to the only person in the room who was not involved in their stupidity. “I… I’m going for a walk.” Kuzuryuu whispers and Hinata immediately feels pity flood him. How could he be so insensitive as to lose himself in the proximity that he and Komaeda share and ignore the only person here who heard the worst news possible? He jumps away from the white haired man as if he has burned him. “Kuzuryuu, you can’t. It’s—“

“Don’t stop me.” the blond bites back, frustration apparent in his worn out voice. “I need to. I just… I’ll be here in a minute.”

“Kuzuryuu!” Akane calls out to him and begins following but Nanami grabs her by the sleeve of her werewolf fur lined coat and shakes her head. The busty woman brushes the pink haired girl off. “You can’t let him go out like this, it’s dangerous! What if something bad happens to him?”

“Let the boy be.” Nidai says in an unusually quiet voice as he watches the slight hunter’s frame through the window, quickly consumed by the darkness. “He needs a moment. It’s for the best.”

“But—!”

The look in Nidai’s eyes makes her voice die down and she slumps on the stool, running a hand through her disheveled hair. “I think I’m going to need another drink before we go.” She mumbles and hides her face behind her palms.

Souda takes the moment of peace as a sign that it is safe to come closer to the rest. Hinata notices him twisting the edge of his shirt and his voice trembles slightly when he turns the brown haired hunter’s way. “So it is really true then…? K-Kitsunes? We are all going to die.” The magenta haired man attempts to smile but it looks more like a grimace than anything else and his eyes widen from pure terror. “Are you kidding me!? There’s no way that I’m staying here, I don’t want to die yet, no thanks. I’m calling Togami right now, this is crazy.”

“Souda…” Nanami makes a move to pat his back but he jumps away from her, his back painfully hitting against the corner of a table behind him.

“No no no NO! Don’t you ‘Souda’ me, I absolutely refuse. All of you must be crazy to even consider the idea of staying here!” he gesticulates wildly as his gaze jumps from one hunter to another. “These things killed the elites. The elites! Does that not say anything to you? Kuzuryuu could have died too, he’s lucky that he only escaped with one eye missing.” 

“Okay, first of all we will stop freaking out, okay!? Right now our first priority is to secure this building and if you’re going to act like a bitch, save it for tomorrow and help us today.” Hinata commands, but Souda’s whining doesn’t stop. At least it’s not as loud and obnoxious as it was before and he can tell that the magenta haired hunter is listening. “We don’t know if those are kitsunes for sure.” Hinata lies and the man’s sniveling stops. “It is merely a conclusion Komaeda had drawn out—“

“Aha!” Souda squeaks and points an accusing finger Komaeda’s way. “It’s his fault right, all of this is his fault! Don’t trust this guy; he’s merely causing unnecessary panic! You know what he’s like!”

Hinata does not need to see to know that Komaeda discreetly rolls his eyes. Well, at least Souda’s no longer being a crybaby; too busy taking the piss on the white haired hunter for ‘spreading nasty lies’. “So if I tell you that we are not dealing with kitsunes, will you agree to stay?” Nanami inquires in a stern voice and Souda fidgets with the hem of his shirt.

“It can’t be kitsunes!” Souda yells and stomps his foot on the ground. “This is just a load of shit, they do not come to these regions and they were confirmed to be killed during the last year’s hunt. “

“If I were you, I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You still have yet to see the real thing.” Komaeda’s smirk is accusatory and Souda puffs his chest out, one of his eyebrows raised.

“How would you know, creep? How do you know so much, anyways? Are you one of them maybe? I wouldn’t be surprised with your freakish appearance.”

That sentence hits Hinata like a ton of bricks and he almost feels his soul leaving his body. All of the eyes turn to the magenta haired man whose confidence keeps on withering with every second, after he finally realizes what kind of nonsensical sentence has escaped his mouth. 

Hinata hears that rumbling sound again but this time it is of the wheezy, airy kind. It doesn’t take long for it to turn into a giggle, and then into a loud laughter. Komaeda laughs like he has just heard the best joke in the world, doubling over and clutching his stomach. The brunet feels shivers race up and down his spine at the sound of it. Laughter isn’t supposed to sound like that, it is supposed to be joyous and not—

Disdainful.

Everyone is equally creeped out by the mere sight of it and Komaeda takes in a few shaky breaths, wiping at the stray tears that had managed to escape from his eyes.

“Amazing…!” the white haired hunter wheezes and stifles a few more giggles. “Now that’s the way of thinking I can appreciate. Mistrust, disdain… isn’t this exactly what makes you perfect hunters? That was a good one, Souda, but I think joke time is over and now would be the right time for you to open your eyes. All of you.” Any sign of the laughing fit is gone without a trace, confirming Hinata’s theory that it wasn’t genuine in the first place. 

Komaeda’s voice is cold like ice and he stares at all of them with such a scornful look that Hinata wants to punch him in the face. “You fail to see what is in front of you and eventually this short-sightedness will be your downfall. I’ve had enough of this nonsense for today. Try to stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. I’ll be on the roof if by any chance you need me and my ‘false clarification’.” Komaeda stuffs his hands inside his pockets and with one last glare turns on his heel with every intention of getting the hell out and Hinata would gladly let him do that, but he can’t let the man slip off the hook when he’s the most knowledgeable and experienced out of all of them. Without thinking too much about it he catches up to him and tugs on his wrist, taken aback when Komaeda forcefully rips it away. He steps back until there is more than enough space to fit a table in between them and only then does he finally look up, his eyes gleaming eerily.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Hinata inquires, pinning the man with a disapproving stare, content to see him shuffling awkwardly as if to escape. 

“I didn’t take you as a person with hearing problems, Hinata. Perhaps I was wrong.” The hunter remarks as sarcastically as possible and the brunet feels his eyebrow twitch. 

“Oh no, my hearing is just fine and correct me if I am wrong but did I just hear you say that you’re going to slack off while we are on a mission?”

“You didn’t exactly give any orders, Hinata.”

“Listen here.” The brunet places his hands on his hips, trying his best to imitate Akane’s not-to-be-messed-with pose but quickly gives up on it when Komaeda looks him up and down with an amused smirk gracing his lips. “I am the one in charge here and you will do as I say, so you better suck it up and listen to me.“ Hinata doesn’t spare another glance at Komaeda who was already opening his mouth to say something unnerving. He focuses on Nanami. “What were Togami’s orders?”

Nanami looks relieved when the unnecessary drama finally disappears. She shoves her hand into her bag, taking out a can of red spray paint and tosses it to Hinata. “First we set up traps. As many as we can, below the windows… Extra five symbols in the rooms we are staying at. ”

“That many? What for?” Hinata wonders as Komaeda snatches the paint out of his hands.

“You’ll need as many as you can draw.” He states and rolls the can in his palm, pretending to read the label so that he can avoid looking at the brown haired hunter. It was starting to get annoying.

“Why would we?”

Komaeda rewards him with this really long stare, a small smile tugging at his lips. It makes Hinata feel like an idiot when the man says in a bemused voice. “We are in Ludenberg.” like it is supposed to hold the answers to all of Hinata’s questions. And it kinda does.

“You needn’t worry about it.” Nidai interjects, scratching the bridge of his nose. “We took care of that when we got here.”

“All of the rooms?” asks Nanami.

“Well, not all of them but—“

“Togami specifically said ‘all of the rooms’, so that’s what we are going to do. Here.” She says quietly and brings all of the cans on the table, how she had managed to fit them inside her bag is a mystery to Hinata. “Take one and get to work. It’s already night time, so the shape-shifter activity is in full swing. You need to be fast and very careful, make sure to take a flashlight with you. If by any chance you run out of paint, I’ll leave these on the table. In case of an emergency try to find another hunter, avoid dealing with this alone.” Souda catches onto every word of Nanami’s usual mission briefing which is absolutely unnecessary. They had already done this so many times that they could kill demons woken up in the middle of the night with their eyes blindfolded. She takes a can and regards them with a stern look in her eyes. 

“I’m going to start now. It’s my first time staying in this pub and Mahiru has suggested showing me around so we’ll take care of the east side. You can split up however you want, just make sure you got all of the grounds covered.“ The pink haired woman picks up her now empty bag and slings it over one shoulder. “I bid you goodnight. Be safe and stop fighting.” And with that she crosses the room and disappears in the dimly lit hallway. 

Souda lets out a frustrated groan and tousles his mop of dark pink hair even further when Akane finally picks herself up from the stool, swaying a little. “We gotta go.” she turns to Nidai. “They are right, it’s a bit too late for us to stay here and I don’t really want any shape-shifters after our asses.” She stretches and glances at the three young hunters before her, sending a pointed glare Komaeda’s way. “Yo Hinata, c’mere for a sec, I gotta talk to you since you’re in charge and all.” 

She doesn’t even wait for his reply; instead she grabs him by the collar, drags him towards the bar and throws him against the wood. Hinata doesn’t complain because he knows that it is not worth it and Akane will ridicule him the moment he starts. 

“Just because we are leaving does not mean you cannot call us in case you find yourselves getting into some deep shit here, alright?” the busty woman states, the look on her face betraying concern. 

Hinata understands her, he would be pretty worried too if he had to leave behind some rookies who weren’t experienced enough to handle this kind of job and would possibly get themselves killed in the span of three days at most. It makes his throat constrict when he realizes that he is the rookie in question and he is the one being shoved a bigger bite into his throat than he can possibly chew. 

It’s only then, he realizes, when the true fear for his life finally kicks in. Can he really blame Souda for wanting to flee? Can he really blame Kuzuryuu who has already been through all of this and who’s being pushed into the fox’s den again? 

Can he really blame Komaeda’s strange attitude, knowing the situation that they are in?

“I-I know.” The brunet swallows heavily and wipes his sweaty palms onto his jeans.

“Good.” Akane awkwardly reassures him and pats his shoulder. 

She’s never been good at the whole consolation thing; if anything, before she was married she used to suggest touching her breasts, effectively making it awkward for Hinata and his fourteen year old horny teenager brain. “Take care of yourself and the rest of them, alright? If Souda’s being a bitch then force him to stay. Use your power of authority or something; he can’t keep on being a complete chicken shit forever.” She sends one glance across the room at Souda who looks like he’s ready to pass out right then and there. “You don’t need to worry about that Nanami girl, she’s got a good head on her shoulders. If it comes down to it, use protection.”

“Owari!” Hinata yelps, his face heating up and Akane laughs.

“Geez, I was kidding, no need to be such a virgin, Hinata.” She teases him and ruffles his hair. “I’m serious though, get laid sometime. Just not here. You can never know when some pretty kitsune ladies will getcha.”

“I’ll remember your words next time I’ll decide to get shit-faced and hook up, I mean it is not like we are in a shape-shifter infested village. Know any good bars here?” Hinata smiles and Akane’s hand stills on top of his head.

“Still a smartass.” She forcefully grinds it down and leans closer to him to whisper into his ear. “Also keep an eye on that weird kid. I don’t like him. Who the hell does he think he is talking to me like that? If it were just me and ’im, I’d kick his ass.”

“Personal grudges among hunters get the collective out of synchronization.”

“Don’t quote ol’ man Kirigiri to me. Tell me who the hell he is.”

“A package of emotional troubles wrapped in an unrecognized genius disease.” Hinata answers and discreetly peeks over Akane’s shoulder, meeting Komaeda’s acid gaze dead on. His eyes look unnaturally green in that angle and the brunet quickly turns his attention back to Akane’s face. She stares at the ground with a mystified look on her face, unusually serious, focused even. “Whoever that kid is, he reeks of trouble.”

“I know he’s strange, but—“

“No, kid, you misunderstand me. He reeks. “

“I refuse to involve myself in a chat about the guy’s personal hygiene, so if that’s what you have in mind then you can forget it.” Hinata sputters, his cheeks red. The brunette looks at him like he’s dumb or something.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the fact that he does not smell…normal. People usually smell the same in one way or another, but this guy… he smells like supernatural to me. Don’t tell me you’ve never noticed?”

Hinata feels his gaze being pulled to the white haired man’s wiry frame like metal to a magnet, but this time he isn’t looking, his shoulders hunched and his head turned in a way that hides his eyes completely. 

Did he ever notice?

Komaeda does smell like wilderness, like grass and pines, like earth and moss. He smells like the forest and that smell is so strong and overpowering that it makes Hinata’s chest constrict with some sort of fluttery feeling, it makes him want to reach out to the man, touch him in any way he can. 

He no longer feels the same sensations he used to when he was a teenager, but the brunet likes to blame it all on his awkward puberty that had hit him far too late. If anything, he blames it all on Komaeda’s strange eagerness to touch him, to fucking go as far as to smell his neck and a bunch of other stuff. It is only natural for his body to respond, especially when Komaeda is a man of stunning beauty and it’s impossibly hard to even try and deny it. But never, not even once, has he thought about it being not normal. The scent of course. Not the whole can’t-keep-it-in-my-pants thing. The can’t-keep-it-in-my-pants thing can go to hell for all he cares.

And now Akane has just dropped him the bomb of Komaeda smelling like demons and stuff. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever noticed.” Hinata lies and with mild interest watches Komaeda shift uncomfortably. It’s a bit weird but he doesn’t think too much into it. “Not everyone has a nose like yours.”

“You’re right. My mistake.” The brunette says timidly and then looks outside. It’s pitch black. “And take care of Kuzuryuu for me, will ya? I don’t want him to lose his head and rush into any unnecessary anger. You know how that kid is. I’d talk to him myself but if he doesn’t want to… Well then, get up, you’re gonna go help us load and talk Kuzuryuu out of his mood. You need to do some work, right?”

“Yeah.” Hinata nods and rolls his shoulders. If anything he’s feeling tired after driving halfway across the country for the bigger part of the day and trying his best to solve the case. Ignoring Komaeda was rather tiresome too. He would gladly go to sleep but unfortunately they need to be on watch tonight. “Let’s go.”

\--

They split up quite decently. Nidai’s far from drunk and not even slightly bit buzzed so Hinata’s glad for that. At least they won’t crash. He does not want to think about all of the dangers leaving this place in the middle of the night but he trusts the hunter duo and he knows that they’ll make it out safely. He helps Nidai load their bags into the trunk and accepts all of the ammo the bulky hunter gives him. The wind is cold against his back and Hinata feels paranoid, jumping at every little sound, whether it is the meowing of a cat or naked tree branches swaying in the wind. Nidai praises him for keeping his guard up like that and Hinata tries to make it seem like he totally intended to jump a few feet into the air when a late night passerby walked by the pub and startled him. He hopes that he was a human. 

It’s not like he almost dropped his heart on the shingle.

Akane finds Kuzuryuu sulking in the yard. Gladly he hasn’t wandered too far away, mindful of the hunters’ warnings. Hinata looks at them talking a little ahead and the blond hunter looks so small at that very moment that Hinata feels his throat constricting. The busty woman attempts to hug him but gives up on it and they end up exchanging high fives. The brunet says his farewells and doesn’t move from the spot until the older hunter jeep is far away and he can no longer hear it. 

He approaches Kuzuryuu who still stands unmoving under the porch light, even paler than he was before. His eyes are an alarming shade of red and his voice is coarse when he speaks, giving away to Hinata more than he needs to know but he doesn’t question the blond. He lets Kuzuryuu be the one to open up whenever he feels like it and for now just being there is enough. 

“You know…” the slighter man begins and discreetly wipes at his eyes, pretending to scratch an itch. “I never would have thought that I’d come back here. Not under these circumstances at least.”

“I don’t think any of us though about it.”

Kuzuryuu lets out a mirthless laugh. It sounds as hollow as Komaeda’s outburst. “Pft. It’s not like I would have bet on it, I just… This is where Peko died. It would sting less if I knew that these weren’t the same beings that killed her. Now it feels like all of this is mocking me.” he progressively gets angrier and kicks a pebble on the sidewalk. “I’m here and I can’t even go to the place where they executed her.”

“You can go during day time.”

“I would but it’s too deep in the forest. No light goes through there; it’s as good as taking a stroll in Satan’s cave.”

“Satan’s cave?” Hinata snorts at that. “You sure have a way with words. What even is that?”

“You don’t know about the Satan’s cave?” Kuzuryuu asks him, his voice a little brighter. He sounds grateful for the distraction that Hinata provides and he actually smirks in a way that screams I-finally-know-more-than-you-do.

“I don’t really.” Hinata smiles good-naturedly and closes his eyes as he sways on his heels. The breeze that brushes over his face feels nice. The hunter inhales until his diaphragm can’t accept any more oxygen and exhales slowly. It smells a lot like home… It smells like a forest. “Want to tell me about it?”

“It’s a story that Peko told me a long time ago. When we were kids actually.” Now Hinata knows what that dreamy look in the boy’s healthy eye means and he feels sad. Kuzuryuu is talking about a lost lover, a woman he won’t ever get a chance to speak to again. It is moments like these that make Hinata feel better, make him feel content that he does not have that special someone for whose life he would have to worry day and night. 

He listens to Kuzuryuu talk and they have a comfortable conversation, playfully jibing at each other when it suddenly hits Hinata that they are forgetting something vital.

“Shit… that’s right, we better go inside and set up traps. If Nanami finds out that we didn’t do it, she’ll have our heads.” Hinata tries to pretend that he’s cold and shivers for good measure but Kuzuryuu catches on.

“I don’t think she’ll do much of anything. The worst she can do is giving you silent treatment.

“Oh man, that’s not the worst. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to drive while she stares you down? I’d rather let a demon possess me.” the brunet whines and makes his way towards the pub. “Or even worse, she might report us to Togami and that guy will surely get us.”

“Don’t jinx it.” Kuzuryuu warns him and pokes his side. “Knowing how much you attract the supernatural you might get it and I sure as hell won’t save your ass. I’ll visit your grave three years later after Togami finally gives up on me and the only words I am going to say will be ‘I told you so’.”

“What a great friend. At least shed a tear or two and only then say that.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

They use the spare keys that Nidai had given to Hinata to unlock the doors. It’s mostly dark except for some candles placed on the windowsills. Kuzuryuu immediately groans something about Hanamura being a careless dumbass and leaving the shitty candles there of all of the places as he fetches his flashlight and blows them out. Hinata takes one spray can and he looks around. They are all alone and he clicks his tongue.

“I can’t believe they went on ahead without us.”

“What did you expect?” Kuzuryuu asks as he blows out yet another candle and the room rapidly drowns in shadows. “You were making a speech there; I would have left ages ago.”

Hinata does not grace the short hunter with an answer. Instead he throws another can Kuzuryuu’s way and takes out his cell phone. “I gotta meet up with Souda. He’s probably locked inside his room.”

“Whoa whoa whoa.” Kuzuryuu interrupts, a baffled look on his face. “What do you mean ‘Souda’? Aren’t you going with Komaeda?”

Hinata almost drops his phone and stares at the freckled hunter with an equally unreadable expression. “Oh hell no, you did not just tell me to go with him.”

“Wait, so you aren’t!?”

“Of course not!”

“So who is?”

“You of course.” Hinata tells him and it takes exactly three seconds for Kuzuryuu to process what has been said to him and then explode in a rage filled rant. 

“Says who!? I am not going anywhere near that freak, you’ve been dealing with him way longer.”

“I say so, I am in charge.” Hinata whines and points to himself. It’s not good to abuse this power of authority but he’d rather hook up with a kitsune than spend time with Komaeda.

“Fuck that! Hinata, if you leave me alone with this guy, tomorrow morning you'll discover his dead body and it sure as hell won’t be because of the kitsune attack.”

“I can’t just leave him roaming around; he’ll get himself killed before we know it.” Hinata remarks and rubs his forehead, ignoring the blonds’ annoyed ‘so what’. His head begins pounding, his blood pulsates within his ears and he feels a headache forming. Great, just what he needed… “Besides Souda and I are partners. We’ve been doing this since… forever!”

“Hate to break it to you, old man, but your current partner is Nanami Chiaki and sadly I am the one lumped together with that piece of shit, but I’d much rather stick to him than that creep.”

“You can barely tolerate him!”

“We get along fine! Besides, we had an agreement that we’d stick together.” Kuzuryuu shouts, his face dark pink.

It’s like dealing with a kid.

With a sigh Hinata gives in. “Fuck, alright fine. We’ll do it your way. But from this moment on Souda is your responsibility, so know that if he decides to run away you’ll take the fall. I won’t let Togami whoop my ass for your mistakes.”

Kuzuryuu’s amber eyes glisten in the dim light as he cracks his knuckles. “Oh, that won’t be a problem. He ain’t goin’ anywhere, you have my word. Now go see your cuddle monster.”

“Cuddle… what!?” Kuzuryuu’s obnoxious laughter echoes as he goes ahead without waiting for him and disappears, leaving Hinata behind with his own muddled thoughts. With an unnecessary force he blows out the last flickering flame and walks into the dark corridor. The only light that keeps him from running into stuff comes from his cell phone, illuminating the creepy ancient paintings and distorting them to the point it was too unsettling to even look at them. The hunter pointedly keeps his eyes on the bright screen and mindlessly scrolls his infinite list of contacts, letting his thumb hover over the first name under the letter ‘N’.

The tiny black letters taunt him and he feels his frustration picking up. With an agitated sigh he stuffs his phone inside his jacket’s pocket and turns on the flashlight. 

He’d rather do this alone than listen to that guy.

Except that, he notices, there’s not much left to do. Komaeda has marked down all of the basic traps already and Hinata doesn’t even want to think about how they are going to get all of that paint off the walls so instead he takes out his phone, after checking three more rooms to make sure, and calls the guy.

It doesn’t get a second chance to ring when the weird hunter’s strangely lively voice reaches his ear. “Hello.”

“Don’t ‘hello’ me, idiot. Where the hell are you?”

“You really do need to get your hearing checked; I’m starting to worry for you.” Komaeda’s laughter echoes through the receiver and damn, it’s still just as perfect as it is in real life. This time it sounds honest and lacks the biting edge in it. “I’m on the roof.”

“What are you even doing there?” Hinata asks, his curiosity getting the best of him.

“I’m keeping watch. Nanami and I had thought that this was the best course of action to take and the roof is the most important place of this building. Actually, right now is our shift, so it would be great if you got here and finally joined me,”

So everyone except for him knew that he‘ll end up paired with Komaeda in one way or another, huh? “For how long?”

“Not too long. We still have almost two hours left.”

That’s really really long. Far longer than Hinata would like and right now he would like pretty much everything that did not involve the words ‘outside’ and ‘Komaeda’ in the whole equation. Preferably sleep. “I’ll be right there.” He says in a defeated tone and hangs up. 

Better get to it now. The sooner he gets it done - the better. 

\--

The first thing he hears once he forces the ancient rusted doors leading outside to open is Komaeda’s quiet voice. “Well aren’t you quick today.”

“Well aren’t you an insufferable douche today.” Hinata retorts, his eyebrow twitching. Suddenly the breeze he has felt before no longer feels inviting, if anything his ass is freezing. He plops down next to Komaeda, who is seemingly unaffected by the cold, and curls into a ball, placing his shotgun by his feet. He might as well ignore the guy, but that didn’t seem to be in the white haired hunter’s plans. 

“I apologize then. I’m a little on the edge today.” Komaeda says timidly and Hinata avoids looking at him.

The silence stretches and Hinata curls into himself even more “You’re always like this.”

“Like what exactly?”

“Like this!” Hinata turns his head to scowl at him and falters once he sees the white haired man’s expression. He looks lost in thought, detached even, but the look in his eyes is gentle. “You know what… just forget it. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

It used to though, offers a small voice in the back of Hinata’s head. It used to matter when he called your name with warmth in it; it used to matter when you called him your best friend. It used to matter before all of it went to shit after he gave you that dumb fang. Which he keeps around him at all times, the only reminder of the Komaeda that he used to like.

“You’re upset with me? Disappointed?”

“I’m upset because I don’t know you anymore. I can't recognize you and I am not sure what happened to you, but something surely did.” The brunet explodes, his bitterness, the loneliness which left a void in his heart shaped like one tall, white haired bastard beginning to sting. 

He’s not the one to talk about his feelings, he’s not really good at it and he can only hope that Komaeda will let it go even though he knows that he won’t. He never does.

“A lot of time has passed, Hinata. You knew the ‘me’ from the past. Right now things are a little different. The past doesn’t matter anymore. We must always look towards a bright future.” His smile is a little off, a little crooked. “There’s nothing more important than a wonderful, hopeful future for you. That’s all I want and I will gladly lay my life down for it. It’s of the utmost importance!”

“Just as I thought… I will never understand you.” Hinata lets out a bitter laugh and lets the uncomfortable silence drown them. He no longer feels tired just… empty. 

It’s not like he expects any kind of closure whenever Komaeda is involved. Komaeda is all about loose ends and unsolved mysteries that he won’t ever figure out. The scent of forest is far too strong now that he’s sitting next to him and not standing around, chatting with Kuzuryuu, but if he sniffs and concentrates enough, there’s something depressing about the whole atmosphere around them. He’s not sure why he’s surprised anymore.

“Hinata…” Komaeda begins in a quiet voice and the aforementioned hunter sends one look his way. He refuses to make any sound of acknowledgement, but that does not discourage the white haired man. He’s probably already used to Hinata’s ways after all this time. “Have you ever heard the story about the fox and the grapes?”

It catches the brunet completely off guard and so he lifts his head, trying to remember if he’s ever heard anything like it. It’s a dull memory, but it is there, a story his uncle had once told him and his cousin. “I think I’ve heard it but I don’t really remember what it was about? Something about a fox trying to reach for the ripe grapes hanging high above its head and then giving up soon after?”

“Very good.” Komaeda nods and smiles, his eyes focused ahead as if he can actually see something in the inky darkness. “However the first time I’ve heard this story it was a little different.” He imitates Hinata’s pose and hugs his bent legs, taking in a deep breath. “Do you… want to listen to it?”

Hinata figures that it’s only a simple story therefore it won’t hurt much to listen to it. It won’t confuse him any further like Komaeda’s speech pattern does. “If you want to tell me then knock yourself out.”

“There once lived a fox.” The sound of Komaeda’s voice is laced with notes of nostalgia and his eyes cloud with some sort of emotion akin to sadness. Hinata tries his best to keep eye contact, but it's a little hard for him to do so. “It was tiny and its fur wasn’t as thick compared to the rest, so the little fox was always hurt by the bigger foxes around it. The small fox was a very lonely and sad creature, wanting nothing more than to feel loved but it did not dare to approach the other foxes in fear of getting scratched and bitten at again. Eventually the little fox was driven away. It wandered for a few years until it could no longer keep on going and so it fell on the ground at the edge of the forest, waiting for death to take it, how cowardly of it. But then two days later, a human had approached it. 

It was a boy, the first human that the fox had ever seen and it tried to scramble away but it no longer could as it was far too weak and sickly. The boy was very touched by the sight and he reached out to the panicked fox, picked it up and took it home, fully intent to nurse the little animal back to health. How very kindhearted of that boy, to take home a diseased wild animal that tried to bite his hand when he had reached out to pet its head. 

The fox healed quickly under the boy’s constant supervision and the moment it regained a little strength it tried to run away a few times, but the boy always caught it by the tail. Deep inside the boy knew that trying to tame a wild thing was bad and it went against the fox’s nature, but he wanted to try, he wanted to be selfish. He was patient with the little fox; he did not mind the bites and the scratches it inflicted and was determined to make it trust him. At first the fox did not understand, why a dangerous human who killed other foxes would try to help it, but the human boy soon won over its affections. 

After a month of shying away, one day the fox let the boy pet its head, enjoying the feeling of warmth and care that came from the touch. The boy was overjoyed and it didn’t take long before the two of them were playing at the edge of the forest. The fox grew so attached to the boy that it could no longer imagine its life without him. Everyday it would hunt something and bring it to the boy to express its gratitude, be it mice or other tiny animals and the boy would praise the fox for its efforts and he would never fail to play with it. 

But then one day the boy stopped playing with the fox. It was very confused as to why it happened. It watched the boy from the little flower garden. The boy talked to other human boys and girls just fine, so why could he no longer talk to the fox too? It crushed the little fox’s heart as it followed the ignorant boy around, feeling its world fall apart.

The fox observed the way girls would sometimes pick flowers from the garden and give it to the fox’s beloved boy, so the fox too would chew at the daffodil stems and bring them to the boy, but he would only pet it, take the lone flowers and turn away. It kept going on for weeks and the little fox was so heart broken and dejected when the boy stopped caring that it decided to leave him behind in fear of having its little heart crushed. And so the fox ran away in the middle of the night, never to be seen by the boy again.” Komaeda ends his story on a melancholic note and brushes stray strands of silver white from his eyes.

Hinata thinks about the story. It reminds him of the past, far more than it should, but he thinks of it as a mere coincidence. There’s no way that Komaeda could know about that. He was extra careful too.

The brunet lets his gaze linger on Komaeda’s hunched frame. He seemed touched by the whole story like he was actually talking about something that involved his own life and personal experiences. It left a bittersweet kind of feeling in Hinata’s chest combined with the fragrance of pine needles apparent in the sudden gust of wind. “It’s a sad story.” Hinata voices out his thoughts and pokes at the shotgun with the tip of his boot, watching the metal glimmer in the dark. “The boy was very selfish. He shouldn’t have tried to tame wild things if he wasn’t going to pay them any attention, he had fooled the fox into thinking that it had found a place to belong to. But…” he looks at Komaeda, doubting the man’s motives. “Was there a reason to this story?”

Those green eyes widen and the night is filled with the sound of his mirthless laughter. It dies immediately. “Foxes are rather fascinating creatures, don’t you think? They are cunning and incredibly selfish, there’s a reason why kitsunes are like that now that I think about it.” He easily dances around Hinata’s question and his eyes narrow. “Now what would happen if you replaced the fox in that story with a kitsune?”

“Foxes are nothing like those beings.” Hinata glares at the man for even daring to compare the two. “All they have in common is their sly nature, sharp fangs, claws, speed and senses. They are incapable of feeling affection like foxes. They are heartless and all they care about is killing and expanding their little pack.”

“Heartless you say… I can’t really say anything about it. I’m not well introduced to the inner workings of their brain. But they do have hearts, beating, alive and nice to run a knife through.” Komaeda’s smirk is unsettling but Hinata tries very carefully not to show his discomfort. “Foxes are so unlike kitsunes, I’m happy that you know the difference. Much like in the original story, the fox gives up on the temptation after a few tries while kitsunes pursue their goals until the very end. They will try to get those ripe grapes even if it kills them. In a way I can relate to them, unlike you, Hinata, who is almost always on the sidelines, trying to stay out of the way of mutual slaughter. I don’t doubt your potential but I think that as a leader you should take the initiative. Show the rest of them a good example. Don’t be like me who only trusts his own judgment, you’re better than that.” 

The white haired hunter pulls out a long dagger from its sheath, strapped to his thigh. He closes the distance that has kept on shrinking through the whole story time and presses the cool handle against Hinata’s damp palm, closing his fingers around it. He leans in close enough for Hinata to count all of the hunter’s pale eyelashes as he whispers into his ear. “I want you to take this and kill all of them. Slaughter them; don’t be fooled by their human appearance. Don’t let anyone stop you, not Nanami, not anyone. I’ll be right behind you, just give me a word.”

The brunet accepts the dagger and pushes Komaeda away so that the man’s breath no longer fawns against his ear. “I’ll do things my own way; you can’t decide what to do for me. I will never become someone you want me to be.”

“Why are you so cautious around me? Am I that unsettling?” his voice is calm but there’s frustration in it. “You look at me as if I’m trash, as if I will hurt you. I won’t. You don’t have to fill your head with those nonessential thoughts. In case I do hurt you in some way you can treat me as you please.” 

He’s crazy, he’s definitely crazy, Hinata thinks when the man moves in closer. In return he scrambles back and unsteadily picks himself up, almost falling on the uneven roof surface. He wipes at the cool sweat gathered on his forehead and takes in shaky breaths as his hand finds that spot on his neck, touching the burning skin there. “Somehow I find it hard to believe you.” The brunet tries not to stutter. He knows that Komaeda has noticed his sudden movement to press his fingers to the back of his neck and his eyes light up when it clicks.

“It’s about the last time?”

“It’s always about the last time!”

“I can grovel at your feet for many things that I’ve done, but this is not one of them, Hinata. I will never regret touching you. As for your lack of trust, we really are similar, you and I. Isn’t it so… human? And if we really are alike then I want you to switch the fox from the story into a kitsune. Take all of the knowledge I just showered you with, I’m sure you will figure it out eventually.” 

“Spare me the drama and tell me what you have in mind!” Hinata shouts, his nerves high-strung. He will not be swayed by him. He refuses to be. 

“You can’t honestly expect me to do everything for you?” Komaeda snarls and faces away. “Do it on your own, I won’t be there to guide you around every single obstacle you face. It’s about time you start thinking on your own. If you wish, I can give you one last hint.” Komaeda’s shoulders stiffen visibly and for once Hinata keeps his mouth shut. “If I had to liken the kitsunes to anyone it would be Tantalus. It’s so close yet it’s far out of your reach. It’s so sad that it is almost laughable.” 

Hinata hears spite spite spite all over, anger, anxiety. He’s shocked because he’s seen this many emotions in Komaeda’s body language, heard them in his voice a grand total of zero times. 

He feels like he should say something, maybe ask about the Tantalus, because, sadly, he did not exceed in Greek mythology and he has long since forgotten about that story in particular when Komaeda stands up abruptly and stares ahead, sniffling the air like a dog. His stance is guarded and Hinata’s grip on the dagger handle tightens just a little bit but then Komaeda settles on the roof again. Must be his imagination then. “You should go get some sleep, Hinata. It’s been a long day and you need to get your strength back.” The white haired man faces away and Hinata swallows when he hears the tiredness that laces his voice.

“I’m not going anywhere. We still have half an hour left.” The brunet stubbornly stands his ground.

“I can handle thirty minutes on my own, thanks.”

“I won’t leave until Souda and Kuzuryuu get here.” Hinata repeats, but Komaeda doesn’t even bother to look his way. “What if you get attacked?”

“I can deal with one kitsune.”

“What if there’s a bunch of them?”

“Then I’m as good as dead.” He chirps cheerfully and Hinata wants nothing more than to shove him and watch him fall to the ground, he wants to hear Komaeda’s bones break. That would teach him a lesson. How infuriating! “Hinata, please go.” He pleads in that small voice of his but the tone of it is final, leaving no room for arguments.

“What if I don’t want to?” the brunet glowers and crosses his arms, hoping that he sounds defiant and threatening enough.

“You will if you stay here for the next five minutes.”

“And what will you do? Cuddle me?” Hinata barks, feeling his face flush when he remembers Kuzuryuu’s remark about Komaeda being a cuddle monster. 

“If I tell you then it won’t be as threatening.” Komaeda finally turns around and smiles. “But you will not like it. So refrain yourself from challenging me and go downstairs.” 

“There’s just no way to reason with you. Not only do I not understand a single word you’re saying, you’re impossible to talk to too.“ the brunet sighs, runs his hand through his short hair, letting the strands stick out even more, and picks up the shotgun still resting on the cold surface. He doesn’t doubt Komaeda’s words this time and he does not want to test Kuzuryuu’s theory. It’s obvious that in case he stays here, one of them will end up dead by the time their thirty minutes are up, besides, Hinata still feels pretty damn exhausted. “Don’t get your ass nommed on and try not to freeze to death.”

“Why? Do you actually care?”

“I don’t.” Hinata lies and turns his back towards the man, trying his best to open the door, which proves to be just as much of a challenge as it was before. “Don’t die.” He throws over his shoulder and Komaeda’s quiet, honest, laughter reaches his ears.

“I won’t make any promises. Sweet dreams, Hinata.”

As sweet as they can get in this place, Hinata thinks bitterly and he swears that Komaeda says something more but it’s too quiet for him to hear it.

It’s probably not important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. So after a month of being useless I'm finally updating this story. This chapter is a bit long because I don't think that I will update this fic for a long while, I need to focus on finishing 'Wires' before I forget all of the crazy mind fuck I have in store. yes. That's my number one priority.


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